Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer insists the Whites can and must take the positives from Wednesday night’s crushing UEFA Europa League defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The 37-year-old, who was beaten twice in the 2-1 loss, also believes it was luck rather than superior skill or tactics that undone his side’s remarkable European adventure.
He told fulhamfc.com: “I think the most disappointing thing was the way that we conceded - totally unlucky. Look at both goals; the first was from a shot that was initially going in the wrong direction, only to fall straight to Diego Forlan. For me, it was also debatable whether he was on side or not.
“Then the second was also very fortunate on their part, where with the ball going clearly wide, it takes a cruel deflection off Brede [Hangeland] and goes in. What can you do? In the end it just wasn’t our night.
“I think they were lucky, without a doubt. But you always need a bit of luck, don’t you? It was just unfortunate for us, that it ran in their favour.”
Uruguay international and former Manchester United striker, Diego Forlan, ultimately decided the outcome, with his late extra-time winner settling the tie and dismissing the need for a penalty shoot-out.
“It was a very late goal, but until that whistle is blown there is still time to play, and that time is crucial – as it proved,” he said. “It’s hugely disappointing because I would like to think we would have gone on to win the game.”
Despite the numbing defeat, the players will hopefully take heart from what has been a remarkable 19-game, 10-month journey.
“It’s very difficult to say, maybe in a couple of days we might,” he said. “It’s just the way in which we lost that makes it very difficult to take in at the moment.
“This was a very good team, with some very good players that we faced. This was a one off game, unlike the rounds leading in to the final. It just wasn’t meant to be I suppose.
“But we can still take a hell of as lot of positives from this – which is vitally important. It’s just at the moment, it’s very difficult to comprehend, when the bitter disappointment takes over. However, we have to try and look back and realise what an amazing accomplishment this was.
“To come that far and reach the Final of the UEFA Europa League, after the amount of games we have played and the quality of teams we have faced is incredible. But when you play in a final of course, you hope that it is your team that makes the difference.”
In another unforgettable season, Fulham secured a 10th successive Barclays Premier League campaign, reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup and the final of a European cup – a first in a 131-year history.
Schwarzer added: “We walk away with our heads held high. For me, the masterstrokes of Roy Hodgson have only just begun and hopefully they will continue for a long time to come.”